Separable connector



JElY 25, F1939' N. A. ToRNBLoM 2,167,223

SEPARABLE CONNECTOR Filed Sept. 2l, 1936 Patented July 25, 1939 Nils A. Tornblom, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Apple -ton Electric Company, 'a corporation of lliinois vApplication September 21,1936, Serial No. 101,713

1 claim. (c1. 173-339) i An object of the present invention is to produce a simplified and improved separable conhector o f the dead end type; another object being to provide means for quickly and easily securing the receptacle member of such a connector to a wallA or cover in which it is desired to mount the same. l l The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be V pointed out with particularity in the claims; but,

for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the followingdetailed description taken in connection with lthe accompanying drawing',

wherein:

Figure 1 is a rear view oi' a box cover in which the receptacle member of one of my improved connectors is secured; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, only the cover element being shown in section -whlle the connector is in elevation; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing parts ofthe connector, as well as the cover element, in section; Fig. '4 isa section on line 2 2 of Fig. l through the receptacle meme ber, the cover element and theplug being omitted; Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is asection online 6 8 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 'i is a longitudinal section through the connector on line I-1 ofFig. 6.

Referring to the drawing, I represents a cylindrical block of insulating material against the front end face of which lies a thick disk 2; also of insulating material.A The disk 2 is secured to the front` end of a rod or shaft-'3 that extends rearwardly through the center of the part I. The rear end of the rod orshaft is reduced in diameter; the reduced part extending through a washer! and being riveted over the latter, as indicated at 5. 'I'he washer is of larger diameter than the bore in the block I immediately in front of the washer, so that the rod or shaft serves to hold the disk 2 against the front end of the block. A torsion spring Il surrounds the rod or shaft 3 in an enlarged chamber 1 in the front 5 end of the block. One end of the spring projects laterally into a groove 8 opening out of the side of the chamber 1, while the other or forward end of the spring is bent forwardly, as indicated at 9, and entered into a hole in the disk 2. Consequently, the spring tends to hold the cover in 'a fixed angular position, but permits it to vbe turned against the resistance of the spring. 'I'he only novelty in the construction so far described lies nieiocation or the spring, since the block and the disk 2 are substantially the same as the corl responding parts in my prior application,A Serial Number 72,045, which has maturedinto Pat. No'.

2,114,258, issued April 12,- 193s.

.. vAs in my aforesaid application,

same and adapted in one angular position of the disk to register with longitudinal passages II in the block I.. Normally the spring holds the disk in such angular position that the two sets -4 nassages lare out of registration with each other and the disk serves as a cover for closing the passages I I as in the construction disclosed in the aforesaid application.

Within the block I are a plurality of tubular contact pieces I2 that are simply inserted from the rear end of the block into passages I3 coaxial with and somewhat larger in diameter thanthe passages I I. T'he central portion of the block is made somewhat longer than the portions lying outwardly from the contact4 pieces I2, so that these contact pieces may be made long enough 'toreach rearwardly to a little disk I4 of insulating material secured to the rear face of the rearwardextension I5 of the block. The rear ends of the contact pieces I2 are thus exposed and may serve as terminals to which wires may be attached.Y fIn the arrangement shown, there is a screw .I6 entering'the side of each of the terminal portions of the contact pieces. It will thus be seen that the contact pieces need not be molded into the block but --may simply be dropped into position after the block has been molded, and be held-against falling out by the little disk or plate I4. The unit just described isihoused in a cylin-4 drical sheet metal shell I1 somewhat larger in diameter than the external diameter of theblock I and disk-2.I The shell Il has at 'its rear end an internal ',annulanange I8 which may be said to form the bottom of acupwhichis cut away so as to leave only a fairly narrow rim or marginal portion. At diametrically opposed points the flange I8 is provided-with inwardly directed ears I9 whichrest against seats 20 extending in a transverse plane inwardly from the periphery of the block. The ears are secured to the block by means of screws 2| that pass through the ears and into the block. The block as a whole is preferably reduced very slightly in diameter from the plane of the seats 20 rearwardly, whereby there is provided a very narrow ledge or shoulthe disk z has ,a plurality of passages Ill extending through the sok der 22 surrounding the block and facing towardin holding the shell or cup and the block coaxial. The forward end of the shell or cup is hanged outwardly, as indicated at 23. At some distance rearwardly from the ange 23 I punch ears 2li out of the metal of the cylindrical part of the cup or shell. tioned that when the shell is slipped into a hublike part 25 on a box cover E@ or other wall member, the ange 2t abuts Aagainst one end of the hub, while the ears 253 may be bent outwardly past the rear face of the cover or other wall. By cutting notches 2l in the rear side of the cover at the places where the ears are t0 engage the cover, the ears may be bent into the notches and thus hold the cup or shell against rotation.

The plug member 28 may be of any usual or suitable construction, being provided with long parallel contact lingers 23 projecting from one end thereof, the fingers being so arranged that each may enter one of the passages it in the vcover disk 2 of the receptacle and, after this disk has been turned through the proper angle, may move on through the passages il and into the bores of the tubular contact pieces i2. The plug is provided with a rtubular extension or skirt 3@ somewhat longer than the projecting portions of the contact fingers and thus serving as a guard for the latter. The part @dis so proportioned that it may be inserted in the shell or cup il and surround the block l andvdisk 2. The contact ngers 29 could conceivably be employed as driving members to rotate the disk 2, but there are various reasons why this should not be done. Therefore, as in my aforesaid application, I provide means for positively turning the disk 2 against the resistance of the spring, without imposing any load on the contact iingers. 'Ihe driving element comprises a rib 3l extending lengthwise of the skirt or sleeve 30 along the inner face of the latter, the rib being shown as being held to the skirt or sleeve by rivets 32. In the periphery oi' the disk 2 there is a notch 33 extending throughout the thickness of the disk; this notch being of the size and shape to receive the rib 3l when the plug member is 'applied to the receptacle member. The parts are so positioned that the rib can enter the notch 33 only at a time when the contact iingers 29 are aligned with the passages i@ in the disk. In the periphery of the block i there is an -Lshaped groove 3d adapted' to form withthe notch t3 a bayonet slot or groove when the m is in its normal idle position, as indicated in Fig. 4, at which time it forms a cover for the passages il in the block. When the plug is rst applied to the receptacle, with the rib 3i entered in the notch 33, the forward movement of the plug is arrested as soon as the rib travels across the width of that part of the groove 3ft directly behind the notch 33. Then, upon turning the plug, the rib is carried to the longitudinal section of the groove 3d and, upon pushing the plug inward, the rib moves back into this longitudinal section oi the groove, as indicated in Fig. 3, thereby allowing the contact lingers 29 to be operatively engaged with the contact pieces i2.

I prefer that the actual guiding of the plug be accomplished by other means than the rib and the bayonet groove or slot heretofore described. I have therefore formed in the cylindrical wall of the cup or shell il a bayonet slot 35 similar to the groove in the block l and disk 2 and preferably in registration with the latter at times when the receptacle and the,v plug are not engaged with eachother. Thus, in the arrange- Thevparts are so propor-V aromas ment illustrated, the rivets 32 are visible through the long' longitudinal leg of the slot 35 in the cup or shell after a connection has been made. The rivet nearest the outer end of the sleeve or skirt d@ is extended radially beyond the periphery of the latter and has xed thereon a little collar 35 whose diameteris equal to the width of the bayonet slot 35. At the time the rib 3i enters the notch 33 in the disk, the pro- Jection 36 on the plug enters the inlet end of the slot 35, which is the right-hand end in Fig. 2. Then, as the plug is pushed in, projection 3d strikes the edge bounding the transverse leg or sectionof the bayonet slot 35 along the rear, and then the plug must be turned before it can be moved farther in the forward direction. After turning the plug through a predetermined angle, the projection 38 enters the long longitudinal rear leg or section of the slot. 'ifhus the movements of the projection 38 and the corresponding end of the rib 3| are exactly alike; the pro- .iection 36 and the slot 35 constituting the guiding means and leaving to the rib 3| simply the duty of turning the disk 2. After the plug and the receptacle have been assembled, the rib 3l still serves to prevent sidewise pressure on the contact fingers, acting as a bar lying within and extending along two registering grooves and thus preventing relative rotary movements of the two parts in which the grooves are located. In other words, the bar is interlocked with the block and therefore acts as a stop or holding device for the disk with which it is also inter'- locked.

It' is usually desirable to provide means for eiectively grounding the casing or housing of the plug. In the arrangement shown. there is a window 31 cut into the rear portion of the cylindrical shell i1, and through this window extends a resilient metal contactiinger 38 that may conveniently overlie one of the ears I9 and be fastened to the receptacle by the screw 2i that passes through that ear. With this arrangement, when the plug is connected to the receptacle, the contact nger 38 rides on the periphery of the sleeve or skirt 3U and, through the wiping action. resulting from this relativamovement, remaining clean and thus insuring a good electrically conductive grounding connection forv the casing or housing `of the plug.

` It will thus be seen that I have produced a simple and novel separable connector, consisting of a few rugged parts; th" construction being such that the part of the plug which is in telescopic relation to the receptacle is wholly surrounded by the receptacle. Consequently, nothing that lies outwardly beyond the cylindrical wall of the receptacle can in any way interfere with the making or interrupting of a connection or with the proper functioning of the device, and the receptacle may be provided with simple means on the exterior thereof for. clamping it to a wall which may be a box cover or other type of wall. It will also be seen that while some of the novel features relate particularly to a dead end receptacle, insuring the proper covering of the contacts in the latter when the plug is withdrawn and the uncovering of the contacts -While I have illustrated and described with partcularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural ldetails thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come Within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claim.

` I claim: f

In a device of the character described, a cylindrical block of insulating material having a rear portion of reduced diameter to produce a rearwardly facing external shoulder surrounding the block, a sheet metal cup-shaped shell larger in diameter than the block having in the bottom an opening through which said rear portion of the block extends While the marginal part of the bottom of the shell rests against the shoulder, the bottom of the shell havnglears projecting into the opening in the bottom of the shell, the portion of the llock of reduced diameter having seats for said ears, an external flange on the front end of said shell, andA rearwardly-extending ears struck up from the shell behind said flange to cooperate with the flange to secure the device to a wall through which it extends by clamping such wall between the flange and the ears.

NILS A. TORNBLOM. 

